Prayers to the Gods of Olympus

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Tag Archive | Dionysos

Dionysos, god whose arrival is swift
and certain, enduring friend of women and men
whose welcome is warm, bringer of light, we see you
in shadows. Dionysos, granter of great blessings,
your presence is a heady wine. Kind-hearted god,
to each you give as is fitting, each vessel you fill
only as we can bear, and yet with even a sip
we are drunk upon you, and our faith is affirmed.
Awesome god, by our own will we drink deeply,
with you we become lost, we wander, we are found.

Dionysos, god who sees to the center
of being, god who stands on the edges,
whose arrival is sudden and swift, I call to you.
Dionysos, granter of revelations,
granter of pleasure and delight, the transport
of the spirit is yours to give. You know the way
to the soul, you hold the key to understanding.
Dionysos, guide me through uncertainty,
show me the comfort of the dark, of the night.
I pray to you, show me how to seek my nature,
open my heart to meaning, lead me to truth.

Dionysos of the vine, rich-tressed god of wine,
potent and lusty, unmixed, undiluted,
with full force you come to us, vital and robust,
rich and strong and surprisingly sweet. Dionysos,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Ivy-bearing Dionysos, god of the green,
of the power of root on stone, the force of life
that will make its own way in spite of all who labor
to hold it back, no will or work can bind your might.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Dionysos of the deep earth, of the dark world,
of the unknown expanse beneath the black soil,
beneath solid stone, of mysteries you know much,
of death and of what lies beyond. God of secrets,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Dionysos the inspiring, granter of words
of prose or poesy, words heard best by the drunken
and the mad, words forgotten with the passing
of night and delight. Bacchus, granter of rare transport,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Dionysos Soter, holder of the hearts
of men, you free us from the cares of the world,
each brilliant frenzied moment a shining jewel,
each glimpse of the sacred more precious than gold.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Kindly Dionysos, granter of good to men
and women, giver of gifts to all who seek
your blessing. Gracious Dionysos, accepter
of offerings great and small, friend of mankind,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.

Dionysos, deep-hearted one who knows the souls
of men and women, whose hand is ever open,
ever within reach. Dionysos, god who runs
in the dark, who sees with eyes shut tight, who dances
to the heart’s strong beat, ever are you yourself,
ever constant, ever changing god of those
who are trapped, those who seek your truth and their own,
those who seek vision beyond seeing, those who seek
wisdom beyond knowledge, those who seek the self,
pure and sweet, those who seek clarity beyond
definition, who seek to embrace the uncertain,
to hold, but loosely, to what is true beyond trust.

I praise Dionysos, lord of the vine, lord of
the far reaches of the mind; in the thick of the woods,
along darkened paths, in the shadows of dusk
and of dawn, you roam the world, the satyrs
and the pretty nymphs dancing in your wake. Son of
Zeus and fair-haired Semele, bold-hearted Semele
who dared to look into the face of glory,
beautiful Semele who you carried into life
again, Semele reborn who men called Thyone;
beloved of clever Ariadne, quick-witted one
so dear to your heart, your bright-eyed bride and consort;
Dionysos, friend of women, friend of the blissful,
wild-eyed maenads, pilgrims and pioneers, those who seek
your cheer and inspiration, those who seek your release
from sorrow and despair, those who are lost in joy
and those who have found themselves in you. Dionysos,
god of the darkest dark and the deepest deep,
boundless one, endless one, fathomless one,
in you we see the edges of ourselves, in you
we find our life’s journey, in you we find our home.

I call to Dionysos, great god of the vine,
son of thundering Zeus and headstrong Semele,
loving husband of warm-hearted Ariadne.
From the east you came, old before the ancients,
throughout the elder world were you beloved;
in Naxos and Boitia were you celebrated,
in temples and in the savage wilderness,
the fleet-footed maenads running in your wake.
The sweetest, strongest wine is ever your drink;
the mind’s release, the body’s loosening, your gift.
O Dionysos; thyrsus-shaker, ivy-crowned
god, we see you in the shadows, we see you on
the edges, we see you in the haze of ecstasy,
where we know the truth of passion, where we find
the essence of our being. Bacchus, I call to you!

All praise to Dionysos, caster of shadows,
so bright you sear the eyes of men, god of all things
that touch our souls, we seek you at the edges
of our lives, in all that we hide from ourselves,
stepping past the threshold, past safety, past the known.
Dionysos, beacon of faith and desire,
you transcend the limits of culture, of nature;
you grant us euphoria, escape, self-knowledge;
you hold us, you transform us, you call us to you
and we follow. In you we find solace, O god,
in you we find inspiration. In you we find
freedom within our grasp at last, dare we take it.
Dionysos, kind one, seductive one, we know you
in the body’s pleasures, the mind’s furthest flights,
the rhythms theat shake us, that open our hearts,
the soul-deep rages that pass like summer storms,
the moments of passion, held still in space.
Dionysos, nearest of gods, I thank you
for flashes of truth, for visions of self,
for that measureless piece of life between two breaths.
Dionysos, granter of ecstasy, granter
of growth, granter of perception, I honor you.